Many auditory prosthesis systems are capable of implementing noise-cancelation processing (e.g., beamforming) that improves the hearing performance of certain patients with hearing loss. For example, an auditory prosthesis system may include a behind-the-ear (“BTE”) sound processor unit located behind the ear of a patient. In this example, the BTE sound processor unit may include multiple microphones used to perform beamforming operations that remove unwanted noise from incoming audio.
Unfortunately, other types of sound processor units may be unable to perform such noise-cancelation processing. For example, certain body-worn sound processor units may not have beamforming capabilities. Despite this deficiency, some patients may still choose a body-worn sound processor unit over a BTE sound processor unit for various reasons. As an example, some patients may need to use a body-worn sound processor unit to support the power requirements of older-generation cochlear implants. Additionally or alternatively, some patients may prefer a body-worn sound processor unit due to certain water-proofing benefits not yet available in BTE sound processor units. Accordingly, these patients may be unable to achieve the improved hearing performance afforded by beamforming operations due to their choice to use a conventional body-worn sound processor unit.